The Boston Herald's venerable Sean McAdam speculates that LaRoche could just be a trade chip for the Red Sox — an intriguing player who could be swapped (or serve as a placeholder) for a bigger, even more intriguing bat.

The Sox now can spend the next nine days looking for a bigger impact player, secure in the knowledge that they didn't have to dip into their inventory of top prospects to make this deal.

We know how much Theo likes to guard his cookie jar, so this makes a lot of sense. The man loves cookies, and rightly so: he's got some delicious cookies.

"There is an understanding of the value of young prospects in roster construction. But it's almost to the point where there's an over-evaluation of these guys. There's almost an over-correction."

That sounds like someone who is trying to stuff his cheeks with cookies, while shoving a couple into his pockets for good measure.

Who else is out there who would be an upgrade at first base over LaRoche? McAdam again:

If another move gets made, it will be something that can upgrade the Sox not only this year, but for several seasons to come. One baseball source said the Sox have been very aggressive in attempting to deal for San Diego first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, but have been rebuffed.

Gonzalez would certainly fit the profile of the kind of player the Red Sox front office covets: he is a left-handed bat with a high OBP, hitting for a ton of power in San Diego, possibly the worst hitter's park in the league. And at age 27 (3 years younger than Victor Martinez) he is just entering his prime.

Even better, he is cheap. Gonzalez is under contract through 2010, with a club option for 2011. He is one of the best bargains in the league, earning $3 million this year and $4.75 million in 2010 (club option in 2011 is for $5.5M). That kind of money sound's like kitten's play in Boston, but in San Diego, it makes him one of the team's highest paid players. And with the Padres ownership woes and dismal record, they have plenty of incentive to move him, even if he is not being openly shopped around.

If the Red Sox were able to acquire an affordable 27-year-old first baseman with legit 40-home run power, maybe it would become more palatable for Theo to give away one of his favorite cookies.

• Towers thinks Adrian Gonzalez is at the point where he is frustrated as well. He's at the stage where he wants to win. Adrian looks at the young players and talk of Peavy moving and realizing that there isn't a chance of winning in the foreseeable future.

• It's highly unlikely anything will happen before the deadline in terms of trading Adrian. At the end of the season Towers will sit down with Moorad, Garfinkel and Black to see what they need to do to turn the team around. They might talk about locking him up in a long term deal, but they'll discuss that at the end of the season.

• Even if Adrian Gonzalez thinks it's best to move him, he'd have to realize the backlash the Padres would face moving such a popular player.

This paints a portrait of a player who wants out, but whose management knows that they will need to receive a huge amount in return in order to not completely demoralize their fanbase.